Ms. Farin Akbar, our new blogger shared the confessions of a social mediaholic in this article
As a child, Geeta was happy enough, with no responsibilities. She had a great childhood. Her happiest memories involved playing with her toys or family vacations to see her grandparents. She would run around with bare feet, sing stupid songs loudly, make castles made of sand, watch television and also play video games.
Childhood always had that beauty where we use to have an impression that every person around was good at heart. You cannot feel the maliciousness of people. The delicate and smooth innocent minds always search for happiness, joy, pleasures which were lively and fun-filled.
As years progress the individuality comes to everyone’s life at one stage or the other and previous charm of the spirit of a joint family gets low. Sometimes I used to find myself when was the last time I was happy with great peace of mind. Ultimately it would end up with a childhood memory.
During her teens, she entered a maze (social media) without even considering if she could go out. She entered and let social media hypnotize her. What started as a simple hobby became an obsession. It is the first thing on her mind when she wakes up, the last thought that comes to mind before bed, and nearly every thought in between.
At some point in her life, she realized that if she wasn’t checking her phone every 10 minutes at a minimum, she felt like she was missing out on something. She found that this really took a toll on her productivity and ability to focus. She realized this had to stop.
To get over this bad habit, she made a point to wake up and think about what she wanted to accomplish today. She would just find something productive to do that she enjoys doing – cooking, dancing, reading books, writing etc. she found it helpful to physically separate herself from her phone. She would often leave her phone so she wouldn’t be near it. She would keep it in silent mode or switch off her mobile data/wifi so she couldn’t hear the notifications.
Out of sight, Out of mind was her strategy.
As an observer here, what I started to notice about the change in her behavior was that “she was feeling progressively happier each day as a result of detachment from her phone”.
“The internet is not the enemy and it definitely has changed our lives in so many good reasons”.
One should teach themselves to minimize the negative and maximize the positive.
It’s a choice that one can make, and the more they do it, the better they become at it.
This would be helpful to reconnect with oneself. Soon one could transform into a happy, free, and contented souls.
Remember we always have options, no matter what the circumstances..!